The material on Backstreet Symphony was written primarily by the band's lead guitarist Luke Morley, with two songs co-written by Taylor and one cover version included.

Backstreet Symphony was promoted on a worldwide tour beginning in February 1990, which included shows in Europe supporting Heart, Love/Hate and ZZ Top, as well as dates in North America.

Thunder began recording their debut studio album with producer Andy Taylor and engineer Mike Fraser on 7 August 1989.

[1] Sessions took place at the Great Linford Manor in Milton Keynes, and were described by the band's rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Ben Matthews as "like being at a party where an album broke out every now and then" due to the group's excessive drinking habits.

[3] Drummer Gary "Harry" James also recollected the band's tendency to drink during the Backstreet Symphony recording, admitting that "We did a ridiculous amount of partying" and suggesting that it was "The booziest time" of his career.

[1] After its initial release in Japan on 24 April,[11] on 21 June Backstreet Symphony was issued by Toshiba EMI featuring the new album cover and a bonus disc of live recordings.

[13] On 18 August, Thunder appeared for the first time at the Monsters of Rock festival, performing in front of their biggest crowd of approximately 80,000 people.

[15] The cover depicts James, a "tramp" and a female in an alleyway, photographed by Andy Earle in London's Artillery Passage.

[19] Highlighting tracks such as "She's So Fine", "Loved Walked In" and the "inspired cover" of The Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'", Henderson described the album's sound as "a mixture of Bad Company and Deep Purple", claiming that "while Thunder [weren't] the most original or groundbreaking band in the world, [they weren't] lacking when it came to spirit and enthusiasm".